UFMG Seminar Series in Constitutionalism and Democracy

Although the results of the presidential elections in the United States indicated a point of constitutional resilience, the worldwide trend on democratic and constitutional erosion is still in place. Datasets on the quality of democracy, the rule of law and human rights show that decay is a tendency both in the case of already consolidated and recently transitioned democracies. While autocracies and consolidated hybrid regimes still stand, and coups also occur, in states suffering democratic erosion more subtle processes of deterioration have been evolving along with the use of different and common authoritarian practices.

We have been witnessing attacks on traditional media, aggression to freedom of speech and academic liberties, coercion on universities and emergence of anti-intellectualism, restrictions of the rights of LGBTQ+ people, non-observance of gender and minorities rights, decomposition of socio-economic rights through neoliberal politics, attacks on constitutional institutions, abuse of constitutional amendments and substitutions, co-optation of judicial and prosecutorial authorities, cyberattacks and misuse of new technologies – the list of tools to curb constitutional democracy is vast.

Against this background, the UFMG Seminar Series on Constitutionalism and Democracy aim to create an online forum of topical, vivid and interactive academic debate. These series of events provide opportunity for distinguished, emerging, and early-career scholars to discuss, from the perspective of comparative constitutional analysis, the main concerns and challenges affecting the current constitutional jurisdictions around the world. The Seminars are an initiative of the Graduate Program in Law of Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG, Brazil) and the DigitalConst research group, with the support of ICON-S Chapter Brazil, the Study Center on Transitional Justice (UFMG, Brazil), the GNET (UFMG, Brazil), the Center on Transnational and Comparative Law Studies (UFMG, Brazil), the Graduate Program in Law of the Federal University of the Semi-Arid (UFERSA, Brazil), the Graduate Program in Law of the Federal University of Uberlândia (UFU, Brazil), the University of Brasília (UnB, Brazil) and the Brazilian Association of Political Philosophy and Constitutional Law (ABFPDC, Brazil).

The specific dates of the seminars and their links will be announced soon on the Graduate Program in Law of Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG, Brazil) website. All the events will occur over Zoom and Youtube in English language.

The 2021 program can be viewed here.
The 2022 program can be viewed here.